Supreme Court Grants Illegal Immigrants More Opportunities to Avoid Deportation

The Supreme Court has given an illegal immigrant another chance to avoid deportation by ruling that courts can review an immigration judge’s removal decision.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts (L), along with (L–R) Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson (back) stand in the House of Representatives ahead of President Joe Biden's third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024. Shawn Thew/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday to allow a lower court to review and potentially overturn an immigration judge’s determination to deport an illegal immigrant, with possible implications for the removal of criminal aliens.

In a 6–3 split decision on March 19, the Supreme Court said that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit erred in determining that it lacked jurisdiction to review a discretionary determination by an immigration judge.